Now #2
They both burst out into synchronized laughter.
“He’s never been fun,” Xander says. “All he ever wants to do is beat the shit out of me, play basketball, and cook.”
“Shut up, bro. I’m fun, and you know it. Noah, back me up on this.” He waits for a response, but there’s silence on the other line. “Noah!”
“You know I love you man, but Xander’s right.”
Grayson looks pissed. “Why do you always take Xander’s side?”
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t always take his side.”
I look at Grayson. “Okay, boys, that’s enough.”
“You can yell at us more when we get back home,” Noah says.
“Sounds good to me.” Grayson sticks his lips out, forming a frown.
I grin. “Bye, guys.”
“Bye, Violet.” They both say in unison.
Closing my eyes, I smile like an idiot.
Grayson raises an eyebrow. “What are you so happy about?”
“You lost the bet.”
“Did you come up with any brilliant ideas between dinner and now for the Instagram post?” He gets up from his seat, collecting our plates and putting them into the sink.
“I think my brilliant ideas are going to have to wait until tomorrow.”
Grabbing my purse, I sling it over my shoulder and walk over to the front door.
Grayson is standing across from me with an expression written all over his face I can’t read.
Lifting my arm up, I tug at the bottom of the shirt he gave me, but he stops me before I can completely take it off. “Vi.”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing?”
“Do you not want your shirt back?” I put the shirt back on.
He shakes his head. “You keep it. It looks better on you than it does on me.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” I laugh.
“Do you want me to take you back to your apartment?”
“I’m going to take up Dani’s offer to drive me home.”
“Okay,” he says. “What are you doing next Friday?”
“Why?”
“I want to come to our game.”
“You want me to come to your game?!”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“No, I’m just surprised.”
He chuckles. “Can you come?”
“How badly do you want me to come to your game next Friday?”
“What do you want from me, Violet? Do you want me to beg? I’ll do it, you know.”
I fold my arms in front of my chest, sticking my foot out. “Then do it.”
“Fine.” He rolls his eyes, smirking up a storm. “Vi, I’m begging you to come to the game. It’s our homecoming game, so it’s kind of important. I need my good luck charm there.”
His good luck charm. You’ve got to be kidding me.
The last time I went to one of Grayson’s basketball games was our senior year of high school. I loved going to his games because of the thrill of it all and how I could be there to support him.
I went to every single game, starting junior year. It’s when he made the junior varsity team. I remember how he was so excited when he got the call that he made the team.
“Violet.” He snaps me back to reality.
“I’ll be at the game and every single one after that.”
“You will?”
“Yeah, I will.” A small smile grows on my face.
“Thank you.” He rushes over to me, hugging me tightly with his hands wrapped around my waist.
Taking my phone out of my purse, I text Dani.
Me
We worked everything out, but I’d still love for you to pick me up
Dani
i’m glad to hear that! i’ll text you when i get there
Me
Okay
“Are you just going to stand there until Dani comes to get you?” he asks, releasing me from his grasp.
“Probably,” I say. “Hightower isn’t that far from here, is it?”
He shakes his head. “I’d say five to seven minutes, ten minutes tops if there’s a lot of traffic.”
I flatten my lips. “When do you want to continue our trip down memory lane?”
He blinks his eyes in a rapid motion. “Um..I guess tomorrow. I can meet you at your apartment.” He drops his face, lining it up with mine. “Violet.”
“Hm?” I lick my lips.
“I can meet you at your apartment tomorrow,” he repeats.
“What time?”
“If I remember correctly, you’re not a night owl, right?”
“Right. If I remember correctly, you’re an early bird. Well, I mean, if you still are.”
“I still am,” he says. “How does 11 a.m. sound to you?”
“Sounds good to me.” I drop my head, staring at the floor.
“Well, good.”
When I lift my head back up, Grayson’s dark brown eyes are causing the first layer of my skin to melt inside my body.
My eyes wander around the room until they meet his gaze again. Tilting my head on a slight angle, I grin. “What?”
“I don’t understand how you look exactly the same.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You look the same as you did when we were seventeen years old. Are you sure you’re not a vampire?”
I giggle with my mouth closed. “I can assure you I’m not a vampire. It would be cool to be immortal though.”
“Yeah, it would be.” He sucks his lips in, pursing them out. “Hey, Violet?”
“Yes, Grayson?”
“I’m happy you’re coming to the homecoming game next Friday.”
Closing my eyes, I smile. “I didn’t have a choice. You practically begged me to go.” The sarcasm in my voice is prevalent.
“Because you asked me to.”
“It’s interesting how you did what I told you to do.” My lips curve up into a smirk, making him turn away from me.
As he turns back to look at me in the eyes, I see the redness appearing on his cheeks.
Oh my God, I made Grayson Becker blush.
“Look who’s blushing now!” I walk closer to him, placing my hands on his rosy cheeks.
A broken laugh escapes his mouth. “Shut up!” He lifts his head up, staring at the ceiling.
Studying the skin on his neck in great detail, I notice there are veins popping out of it and his hands. His veins are my weakness. He’s my greatest weakness.
I rest my head on my shoulder, closing my eyes and letting out soft breaths.
He brings his head back down, walking closer to me to seal the gap in between us.
“Gray,” I whisper.
He leans his forehead against mine. “Yeah, Angel?”
“You do know we’re just friends, right?”
“Right. Just friends.” He clears his throat. “Although, the way you’re breathing right now is telling me an entirely different story.” He removes his forehead from mine, tilting my head up with his thumb and index finger.
What is going on?